Now Hear This

Hopping on the trademark bandwagon

Please accept these words as written notice to the public (with Jacoby, McMillan and Myers in copy) that effective immediately, I am pursing claim to the ownership of the name, God?. Any future use or reference to this name without the aforementioned mark is hereby prohibited and from this day forward, the name God? is the expressed property of its registered owner, yours truly. Furthermore, failure to comply may result in a federal court appearance due to unauthorized use.

Trademark this
These days people are claiming ownership to universal expressions, names, and sayings, forcing the rest of us to acknowledge recognition should we dare to use formerly common words now lawfully owned. And what exactly is a trademark? According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, “A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others?a legal presumption of ownership nationwide.”

En ingles, por favor?
It’s about creating awareness and staking claim. This word or phrase is now mine. Not yours. Mine. So there.

The trend first caught my attention when Lisa Beamer, widow of 9/11 hero Todd Beamer, decided to register the familiar expression, “Let’s Roll”. That’s because her husband, a passenger on the ill-fated flight 93, was overhead on his cell phone saying, “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll!” shortly before their plane crashed. Then there’s Partners In Leadership , a company that delivers corporate training. They’ve registered the common expression “Above The Line”. The Beatle’s record label, Apple Corps Ltd. has a beef with Apple Computers, and never one to let any grass grow under his feet, The Donald is now looking to trademark those ever-dreaded words, “You’re Fired”. These are just a few of the countless examples of a movement gone amuck.

Appalling, yes. But legal.
Because it’s common for more than one person to pursue trademark of a certain phrase, ownership is often acknowledged and recognized if there is evidence that the applicant may have previously used this particular expression. This is referred to as common-law rights.

That’s why I’m not stopping with God?. After all, you reap what you sow?, so why not think outside the box?? Lest you think this a callous endeavor, let he who is without sin cast the first stone?. This is, glory be?, America! The land of milk and honey? where the sky’s the limit ? and everything, even words, are ours for the taking. I’m merely jumping the gun ? and beating someone to the punch?. I won’t need a Nipplegate stunt or Larry King stint to make my presence known. My legally owned words will now do it for me.

After all, think of God?, think of me. It’s a no-brainer?. You might even say infallible.